Money isn't power; Land is power...
...and let me say this
Since I moved back to the South - making my "next choice the best choice" as they say in the skreets - I decided I would, indeed and in reality, farm someday soon. I've always known that I would and wanted to, but it's becoming much more real now.
I started by visiting my friend Bernie's blueberry farm in Fly, TN and helping out and asking numerous and sundry, and no doubt annoying, questions about the whats and hows of his farm and garden. I went on to build my first set of raised beds and tried out some felt pots and other such things to grow my first vegetables on my own in a more urbanesque setting. I succeeded some; I failed some. I learned in any event. I'm still learning.
But what I do know is this, as we are watching our lives and society change irrevocably right in front of us, we will all need to re-skill. And, when you need it, that is not the time to learn it.
I will have a farm: some hemp, some other medicinal plants, some vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts. A few chickens, maybe goats because they're cute and mow the grass. A few dogs, un-leashed, and some wild 'n rogue cats to keep everyone in line.
But I'll need help - a lot of it. This is what my garden is teaching me. I can't do it alone. It seems humans work best together.
Y'all, when the time comes to claim our natural inheritance of and rights to the land on which we stand, the land our ancestors bled & died to till and farm, when it comes time to really and actually form those self-sufficient communities that can provide for their own basic needs outside of governments and states, we'll all need each other's help.
So... I'm slowly, covertly in many cases, and deliberately sussing out who my "tribe" is and who I will, when the time comes, ask to join me in a relatively temperate part of this country, on land reclaimed, with arable tracts of soil and perhaps some creeks, springs, or other fresh running water near-enough-by.
We have to begin thinking about what we will do when the trucks stop trucking in your salads and steaks. We have to start thinking about what we will do when going to the ER is not the most available option. We have to start thinking about the types of relationships that are needed to actually live in harmony with one another and our environment as societal fabrics and institutions are rendered defunct. We have to begin to consider who we want around us and near us and with whom we'd want to work when our work is no longer in an office but in taking care of one another and taking care of our lives together - all of Us: human and non-human alike, land, rivers, mountains, and seas, too.
Now, if you don't perceive the end of empire and western culture advent nor the need to prepare for a post-industrial life (& at the very least a life not wholly dependent on industry), then scroll on. This conversation isn't for you.
But if you know that change isn't only coming, but is here and that our greatest responsibility now is preparing and helping others prepare for this inevitable breakdown of systems, then... For real, if you're looking for your tribe, too... Holla at'cho Gurl.
Thanks for listening. Carry on.
